from distorted sneakers to LSD beverage: MSCHF shows 'no more tears, i’m lovin it’

‘No More Tears I’m Lovin’ It’ by MSCHF

From distorted sneakers and a fridge full of LSD-like beverages to video game consoles, gun swords, and robots are some of the artworks that take over the Perrotin Gallery in NYC. Dubbed ‘No More Tears I’m Lovin’ It’, the solo exhibition by MSCHF transforms the venue into an uncanny city mall, inviting guests to a surreal journey for self-reflection and subtle conversation.

Through its projects, the Brooklyn-based art collective seeks to analyze the absurdity of our cultural, political, and financial systems.‘In these spaces, the collective will showcase art as merchandise, where sneakers are investment vehicles and video games are fine art. MSCHF challenges our institutional structures by forcing commentary and engagement, provoking widespread public response as a means of performance directly within the environments it critiques.’all images by Perrotin | on view at Perrotin in New York until December 23

Footlockers, GameStops & hock shops

‘No More Tears I’m Lovin’ It’ collects a wide range of MSCHF’s caustic creations under one roof. Wandering the exhibition within Perrotin Gallery (see more here), visitors will encounter an enhanced Boston Dynamics Spot® robot that refers to a project named ‘Spot’s Rampage’, which was first launched in 2021. The robot dog had been equipped with a paintball gun and placed within an art gallery. Viewers could remotely navigate the robot and fire the gun, gradually destroying both the space and the robot.

Although the engineering and robotics company disapproved and criticized the collective’s intention, claiming that it promotes violence, harm, and intimidation, they rolled out a partnership with the NYPD only a day after the project’s launch. Boston Dynamics remotely disabled the robot via an undisclosed backdoor. As a response, the studio utilized the inactive robotic body to attach as many guns as possible could fit on. With this gesture, they unveiled their dystopian view of the future of robotics.

an interactive strip mall where sneakers are displayed as investments

Continuing in the same logic, the studio displayed a sequence of swords, originating from a 2021 gun buyback program. Participants were asked to send in guns to be melted down and forged into swords. Later, they received these swords as compensation for the gun. ‘The swords displayed here expand on the original gun-to-sword transmutation and the size and potency of the firearm determine the size of the sword produced.’

Within this city mall, one can also find a Foot Locker-style outpost, with wavy sneakers decorating the striped walls. In 2022, MSCHF created Wavy Baby, a distorted sneaker created from a digitally liquified photograph of a Vans Old Skool skate shoe. The foot fetish continues with various canvases depicting bare feet, painted by a GAN (Generative adversarial network). In 2020, the studio created This Foot Does Not Exist, a GAN that generates and sends novel feet pics on demand, via text message.

Wavy Converse Chuck Taylor All Star, 2022 | leather, silicone, rubber, shoelaces, canvas, polyester

In addition, there is a simulated GameStop space where visitors can play video games developed by MSCHF. Also, one can find a life-sized sculpture of Jennifer Lopez, created by using a process called 3D Photogrammetry. A team of hired paparazzi simultaneously shot her from multiple angles on the sidewalk, whose photos were stitched together by a computer program to generate a 3-dimensional model, which was then carved in marble. What’s more, the exhibition presents a limited edition series of Damien Hirst’s colored spots, that was purchased at a fair market price and sliced up into individually framed dots, and then eventually resold.